Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
Fifth Tuesday means writers are reading at Star Line Books
Four local authors will read from their works in a fifth Tuesday event at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, at Star Line Books, 1427 Market St.
› Kitty Forbes will read from her chapbook, “Wrong Bus.” Forbes was awarded a Tennessee Williams Scholarship to the Sewanee Writers Conference, which she attended this past summer. She recently collaborated on a gallery show, “Side by Side,” that featured artist Meg Aiken’s paintings and Forbes’ poetry.
› Mark Anderson will read his children’s book, “Oh Happy Dog.” Anderson writes children’s books under the pen name Toshiyori, which is Japanese for “old man.” A carpenter since he was a young man, Anderson discovered in his later years that he loves tutoring children to read. He also returned to school to study his passions: people and cultures of the world as revealed through literature and art. He writes poetry, short stories and political essays.
› Finn Bille will read from a new collection of poems. Bille is an active public poet, having read at a variety of venues, mostly in Chattanooga, but also in Denmark, where the International People’s College published his chapbook, “Waking Dreams,” in 1986. He published the books “Rites of the Earth” in 1994 and “Fire Poems” in 2011. Also in 2011, his poetry was included in “Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets.” His poetry has also been included in several local anthologies. He will read from his new collection, “The King’s Coin: Danish American Poems.”
› Christian Collier, named a 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, is an artist, public speaker and educator who has shared the stage with several members of HBO’s “Def Poetry” cast, poet and activist Ishmael Reed, Grammy-nominated artist Minton Sparks and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members The Impressions. He has given a TED Talk and been featured on an episode of TNT’s “State Farm Neighborhood Sessions” with R&B star Usher. Repeatedly, he has been featured on the IndieFeed Performance Poetry Channel and had his works published in numerous publications, including The Guardian. He released the chapbook “Ghosts & Echoes” in 2009 and the EP “Between Beauty & Bedlam,” fusing spoken-word poetry and multiple genres of music, in 2013.
› Ray Zimmerman will serve as master of ceremonies. Zimmerman is vice president of the Chattanooga Audubon Society and editor of the Chattanooga Chat, newsletter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, Chattanooga Chapter. He served as executive editor of “Southern Light, Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets.” Finishing Line Press published his chapbook, “First Days,” and his work has appeared in several journals and anthologies. The “Southern Poetry Anthology VI: Tennessee” included the poem “Glen Falls Trail,” which received an award from the Tennessee Writers Alliance.
In a separate presentation before the reading, from 5: 30 to 5: 45 p. m., Zimmerman will present a synopsis of the development of his broadside project. The broadside and post cards are now on sale at Star Line Books. They i nclude Zimmerman’s poetry and photography, as well as design and lettering by Terrance Chouinard of The Wing & The Wheel Press.
“The design, fonts and paper choice reflect the style and mood of my poems and photographs, all working together to make a pleasing product,” Zimmerman says.